Perfection is Always A Soul Away
by frostdrop1
Summary: Frisk could never do it. She could never get the end right. So, she tries a different route. She tries to kill everything in hopes something would change and let her free everyone. It was a grave mistake and she fails on the final hurdles anyway. Ripping the timeline apart, she RESETS. Her view of the Underground is now changing and her reason for exploring the Underground is new.
1. Prologue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ THIS ONE FOR INFORMATION REGARDING WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING WITH THIS FAN FICTION)**

 **Hey! First I'd like to say hi and thank you for giving this story a go. Secondly, I'm going to give you some rather important information on what's going on with this particular piece.**

 **This fan fiction is originally written as a second person narrative. For those that don't know what that is, it essentially makes the piece a self-insert by using the pronoun "you" etc... rather than "he", "she", "[name]" etc... HOWEVER! Second person narratives are against the rules of this site. I do not agree with this rule, especially in the case of a game like Undertale which encourages you to put yourself in the story, but I will abide by it. As such the original fan fiction will be posted on DeviantArt instead (I've tried to do links and failed, so just search up "Perfection is Always A Soul Away Undertale", with the mature filter OFF, and the narrative should come up).**

 **I will ALWAYS post the link to the original in this section if you would rather read that. Due to the fact that this version of the story is actually an edited one, there is an inconsistency in tense. The original is in complete present tense, while this one switches back an fourth from past to present. I will not be correcting this. It takes a long time to go through and switch the perspective of the narrative as it is. Also, because of this being an edited version, it may be slightly more polished than the original. Occasionally I notice a mistake, and correct it in both versions. Other times, I might add something into this version that isn't in the other, though it's not going to be story-changing. These extra bits will only be to supplement the way the story is written. So, here's what I'd like to see from you if you could be so kind:**

 **No comments about the past/present tense being all over the place, however, if you tell me that the past/present tense is actually causing a grammatical issue somewhere, I will try and correct it.**

 **Spelling mistakes, from either version. It helps me correct both.**

 **Letting me know if a character is going out of character. This does not include Frisk.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Frisk sits back against a pillar in defeat. Fresh blood drips from her mouth, her head, arms... Her whole body is burdened with bruises and scratches from rough hits, or near misses from attacks thrown her way. Though, now, Frisk understood that she had made a grave mistake in choosing to simply kill anyone she met. Now, she felt another presence in herself she hadn't noticed before. It was another soul. A malicious soul. Very early in her chosen route, Frisk saw that her actions were doing no good. It was hard to watch monsters turn to dust and blow away in the wind, even if they were the ones that started attacking her. For some reason, Frisk just felt she had to kill them. They had to die. Frisk wished she hadn't caved in to that feeling though. Every Froggit, Vegetoid or Whimsun was another being. A living being. Living beings that she chose to end the life of, even if they just wanted to help her, or if they were too cowardly to attack. Frisk's folly had caught up with her quickly. Once she began killing, it was too late. Frisk decided she wouldn't kill any more. Frisk couldn't cope with seeing things die at your hands. But what she felt didn't matter. Deep inside her, the invading soul was displeased. It took control, and while Frisk tried to fight against it, managing to stall for time to let monsters run, the other soul always had its way. They all died. Every monster died. Toriel died. Papyrus died. Undyne died. Frisk would kill until there was no one left to kill. She killed until everyone hid from her. Frisk intentionally sought out people to kill, and she took pride and joy in slaughtering them. This fight, though, had turned out to be too much. This time, Frisk knew she would die. _"_ _Good_ _"_ was her only thought to that. Perhaps to some degree she was afraid to die. That was normal though, right? It was a good thing that she'd die though, right? She'd die, and monsters would be free of her. Though, somehow, Frisk knew in her heart that was just wishful thinking. Frisk knew she was lieing to herself, though not how exactly. Every second of her life Frisk spent trapped inside her own body she would suffer nightmarish visions. Frisk saw what monsters could have been to her: friends. Frisk saw the good times. Then she saw the bad times. Though, all those times were what made them friends. Then dread would wash over Frisk as everything distorted, and she'd remember what she was doing at that moment. Frisk would see the monster she saw being her friend crumble to dust, screaming as she rammed knives into their eyes, and crushed their bones without mercy. If only she could change what had happened. If only they could be her friends. If only she wasn't trapped in her own body, she could reach out to the skeleton attacking her and apologise. But apologies weren't enough for what Frisk had done to him, she knew that and it tore into her soul. At least if Frisk could take control she could defend herself, though that wouldn't be the right thing to do. She was the one who killed the first monster. Ultimately, it was Frisk's fault everything had turned out this way. If only she could re-do her journey. She wouldn't kill anyone. She'd be kind. She'd do her best to make everyone happy, and even if they remained trapped in the underground, at least they'd still be alive to make good memories and live to see another chance to break the barrier. Something Sans had said seemed to pull at her though. It made Frisk feel like there could be a chance that she could try again. It made her feel hope. It filled Frisk with determination.

Sans stood facing Frisk. His stance was as casual as ever, his hands buried in his pockets after his barrage of bone attacks. "Our reports showed a massive anomaly in the time-space continuum. Timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..." He stated, as if it was just normal to hear such declarations. He launched another attack at Frisk, and she came out of it unscathed. He closed his eyes."Until suddenly, everything ends." Frisk felt an ache inside, but her body kept moving, dodging Sans's attacks. She didn't want to fight. Frisk wanted it to stop, but there was nothing she could do. The other soul was in total control. "Heh heh heh..." Sans chortled, then opened his eyes, two dark voids. "That's your fault, isn't it?" Throughout his next attacks, he glanced away.

 _My fault?_ Frisk thought. _What's my fault...? Well, this horror is but... something about time is my fault?_

"You can't understand how this feels." Sans closed his eyes again. "Knowing that one day, without any warning..." He opened his eyes once more, looking upset. However, the smile he always bore remained plastered to his face. It looked strained. "It's all going to be reset." He went on from that, saying he'd given up on going to the surface because he knew that at any time, everyone would just end up right back at the start with no memory of the events that had taken place. This confused Frisk. What was a "reset"? She didn't know. Well, Frisk thought she didn't know. It did seem to evoke some sort of memory, but a cloudy one. A memory where you thought you knew what you were remembering, but you didn't really. It was just ringing a bell. Then, Sans mentioned that he couldn't afford to not care any more, knowing what came next. Frisk wasn't sure what he meant. Did Sans know more than her? Did he know something about the future? It must be a bad future. It was already bad. Frisk prayed to any God out there that all of this would just end.

Sans stood at a distance from Frisk. He was safe at a distance. Even if her body leapt up, it'd take too long to get close enough to attack him. His magic would get Frisk before her knife could get him. With the determination she felt welling up in her soul, Frisk knew she had to do the right thing now. This was all wrong. Frisk smiles wearily, forcing her own consciousness into her body with all the might she could muster. "Sans..." Frisk croaked, not having the energy to even lift her head to look at him. Her body hurt. The taste of blood drowned her mouth. Her soul felt like it was getting ripped apart. It hurt so much, though pain wasn't an unfamiliar companion anymore. She knew it well. Sans seemed a bit taken aback. Frisk didn't speak much, she guessed he didn't think she would ever utter a word, especially not at the end of their fight. Honestly, he was probably just relieved to be alive. He had won. Frisk knew she'd have felt that way if their places were swapped. She knew she'd have been terrified to face the bloodthirsty monster she'd become. She'd have been sure she was going to lose. His eyes just darkened, however. Bones scattered across the floor shook, then floated up and encircled Frisk. They seemed to dance in the air, but in a jerky and violent manner. Frisk lifts her head up slightly, her eyes stinging. _Am I crying?_ Frisk wonders to herself. She was too exhausted to think much about it. "Thank you... thank you..." Frisk whispers. She was just happy that in your her moments, she could have control over her body again. Frisk was happy she'd get what she deserved for her sins. She'd get her punishment for murdering innocent people. Frisk was... happy. Sans's attack wavered. Perhaps how genuine Frisk was made him have to think hard about killing anyone himself. _How many people has Sans killed... Frisk_ wondered, _he is awfully strong... It doesn't matter. Please Sans... get it over with... don't let this chance go to waste... I'm just a dirty brother-killer, after all._ Sans then let out a sigh, knowing what had to be done. Justice had to be dealt. With that in his mind, hands buried deep in his pockets, all of the bones jerked abruptly. They twist and turned, then shot down at Frisk, ripping through her torso. She choked briefly. The strike hadn't killed her, but not even a second later...

 **[RESET]**

 **[YES]**

Frisk let out a long groan and picked herself up off the ground. Her head was spinning. She peered up at the light above. The surface, where she fell from. Home was up there. She was down here. Home... Frisk gripped her head, tears threatening to pour down her cheeks. She felt lost and confused. It was dark. She could barely see. Home... a place where she may never return to, though Frisk didn't even know if she wanted to go back anymore. She had clambered up the mountain for a reason. There was no need to go back. Frisk stumbled forwards, hearing little crunches under her feet. She glanced down, and lifted her foot. Flattened to the ground was a beautiful golden flower. Frisk shifted her other foot. She'd crushed a flower there, too. Frisk observed her surroundings. There was a whole bed of golden flowers around her. It was pretty. _Must've grown here because of the light..._ she analysed, _these... these flowers must have broken my fall. Lucky they were here when I fell,_ _or maybe it was fate... to trap me in this..._ Frisk looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. _...This cavern._

Frisk took a deep breath and readied herself to move on. She began heading forward, fumbling her way through the darkness. Somehow, she didn't quite feel herself. She pondered why, but couldn't think of anything other than maybe hitting her head in the fall. If she was right, Frisk was sure she'd feel better soon. Frisk ran her hands along the wall as she walked to help find the exit of the pit she was in. Frisk stopped, feeling up and down a rather smooth part of the wall. It was vertical, with a shallow trench running up it. Was it a doorway? Frisk poked her head around the corner. The next area was dark too, save for a trickle of light. Where the light touched the ground, there was a patch of grass, and a solitary golden flower. Frisk smiled. _How pretty_ , she thought. _Even in such a dark place... the world... has some beauty._ Frisk walked forwards, crouching in front of the flower to take a closer look. It would be easier to inspect this one on its own than the large patch of them that all merged together _._

"Really, Chara?" The flower sneers.

Frisk gasped, falling back. _It spoke!_ Then she feel her stomach turn. _It has a face..._

"Something wrong, Chara?" The flower's face changes, gaining too black pits for eyes, and a jagged crevice for a mouth. "Did I scare you? Boo hoo." It chortles. This flower wasn't very nice. Frisk had never imagined that a talking flower would be... mean... or scary. Frisk was sure she was as pale as a ghost. The flower's expression returned to what it was before. "You're being pathetic, Chara. Is this a joke? It isn't funny. You were so close. Why did you screw it up?" Frisk remained silent. What was she supposed to say? She had no idea what this flower was babbling about! Not to mention, Frisk didn't know how to say very many words. Or she just didn't like saying a lot of words. Her vocabulary rarely expanded further than manners. "Well, do what you will!" The flower hisses. It went silent, then grinned. "I'll be waiting for you!" The flower laughed and disappeared into the ground. Frisk remained sitting, trying to process what she just saw. Frisk slowly stood, shaking a little bit. Damn, she felt weak. She was hungry, alone, and afraid. Maybe the flower patch didn't break her fall as much as she thought it had.

 _Wait... do those flowers speak too?... Did I kill something by stepping on them...?_

"Hello... Are you alright?" A soft voice yanked Frisk from her thoughts. "You must be so lost and confused..." Frisk looked up at whoever it was. She felt her eyes go wide. It was... something. It was furry, yet stood on two feet. It wore a robe with some strange picture on it, had little horns on it's head and large teeth in it's jaws, yet on the side of it's head were two very large, floppy ears, so it looked a bit goofy. It reminded Frisk of a beagle, but entirely white, with those ears. Either way, the thing was big. Frisk backed away, her breathing picked up a bit. Whatever it was, it seemed like it could do more damage to her than the creepy talking flower. "Ah, do not be afraid my child." It says. It smiles, looking at Frisk lovingly with deep brown eyes. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. I will do my best to protect you during your time here. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs." Toriel states, and gestures for Frisk to follow, heading away from her. Frisk hesitates. Toriel looks back at her. "Do you still fear me, innocent one?" Frisk averted her eyes. She felt ashamed to fear them. They seem nice and acted like they had good intentions, but what were they? "Little one, do you know what I am?" Toriel enquires, almost as if she could read Frisk's thoughts. Frisk shakes her head meekly. "I am a monster. Long ago, monsters and humans lived together on the surface. War broke out between our races, though. We monsters were sealed down here..." Toriel looks upset as she very briefly recounts the history of the monsters. She seemed to be thinking. "It is dangerous for a human to be alone in the Ruins. Other monsters may attack you." Frisk panicked again.

 _Monsters? Attack me? Why? I haven't done anything...!_

"So, please, my child. Trust me. I will not attack you. I wish to shelter you, and teach you how to defend yourself and show you how to navigate the Ruins. This is essential knowledge. Do you understand?" Toriel waits patiently for an answer. Frisk nods. While Toriel terrifies Frisk, her gentle tone calms the young girl somewhat. They seemed nice. Frisk also knew she needed to trust someone. Toriel smiles, and offers their hand to Frisk. Or was it a paw? Either way, she took it. Toriel's grip was warm, and despite their size, gentle. Frisk relaxed, and let Toriel guide her to the next room. There, Frisk sees it for the first time. The height of the Ruins. The architecture casts a large, dark shadow over Frisk and Toriel. Perhaps to some it would seem ominous, but for her? This scene filled Frisk with determination.


	2. Chapter 1: Sweet-Snatcher

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Hey guys. Just going to let you know to tell me about YOU think are plot holes in the story. I will read your reviews and if I think I've skipped it when it should be there, I'll add an explanation in! Please don't make these plot holes about Sans and fan theories about Sans! There might be a few mistakes in this chapter, I noticed a lot when going through it (which are still present in the original over on DeviantArt I think. Again, if you want to see that one, which is a self/character insert, search up "Perfection is Always A Soul Away Undertale" with the mature filter OFF. Since this fan fiction does contain violence and all). Note, the self insert one ALSO takes a lot of time since I am going through the effort of making it text-based so that I can alter it easily. This does mean, however, I have to slowly embolden and italicise and re-font everything I want different. While this takes a lot of time, it makes me happy to see Sans actually get his Comic Sans MS font back like I have in my original documents! This story IS slow going to start but I hope it's enjoyed anyway.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: Sweet-Snatcher**

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one." Toriel welcomes Frisk. "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." Frisk accepts Toriel's offer with a nod, who then steps on four pressure plates on the floor, after which they pull a yellow switch. Toriel looks over at her. "The Ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room." She explains, "Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." With that, Toriel traverses deeper into the Ruins. Frisk trots along behind her, though she stops for a second, wondering if she needed to click the buttons too. The door was already open though... regardless, Frisk stepped back and walk over the same four buttons as Toriel, then followed them to the next room.

In the next room, various switches line the walls. Frisk waits for Toriel to give her explanation of the puzzle.

"To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip." Toriel crosses a brick bridge, and Frisk follows behind her like a young duckling. Frisk quickly notices two switches with a number of yellow arrows pointing at them. It was hard to miss which switches to choose. Frisk chuckled slightly. She looks over at Toriel, and discovers the monster is smiling. Was the sound of her amusement making Toriel happy? Frisk looked back at the switches, considering the thought. She eventually shrugged to herself and flips both switches. A grinding sound filled her ears. She looks at Toriel, searching for approval.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one. You have managed to open the door! Let us move to the next room." Toriel turns away again, moving on. Frisk felt her face warm up. She was praising you!

 _Wow,_ She thinks, chuffed. _Praise.. approval_. _They're being so nice even though these are just simple tasks..._

Frisk proceeds. The first thing she notices is a training dummy, and on the command of Toriel, she stood before it. Toriel informs her that she should talk to the dummy. The motherly figure had already warned Frisk that monsters may attack her, but that it would be okay because all she needed to do was talk to them and her new guardian would come to her aid. Frisk clears her throat, and stares at the dummy. Frisk didn't want to disappoint Toriel so she forced herself to be brave. She needed to speak now!

"... Good... dummy." Frisk mumbles. That's all she says. When Frisk looks to Toriel for her approval, she saw them giving her a funny look. She can't quite read it. It wasn't an explicitly happy look like before. Perhaps she was expecting Frisk to say more? Frisk let your face fall. She must have failed to live up to her expectations of her already...

"Ah... very good! You are very good." Toriel praises the child, though her tone wobbles. She seemed to be saying it just to make Frisk feel better. "Do not worry, we shall practise talking more later, my child." Toriel smiles and nods at her, obviously trying their hardest to keep Frisk's spirits up. The child tightens her face to furrow her brows, but then relaxed. She smiles shyly and glances away.

"... Yes..." Frisk mutter, agreeing to Toriel's plan.

Frisk continued to follow Toriel through the Ruins. Somehow, while she have never seen the Ruins before, they looked familiar. Frisk was are hit again with the feeling that she wasn't quite herself. _Have I forgotten something?_ She asked herself as she walked through the maze-like corridors of the Ruins. Eventually, Toriel left Frsik alone. They asked the child to wait, and gave her a phone to keep in contact. For a few minutes Frisk obeyed, but she quickly grew bored and left the room. Immediately, Toriel called her.

"You have not left the room have you?" She questions Frisk, her tone sounding worried.  
"Uh-Mmm." The child sounded in response. Frisk could say yes, or no, but she chose to just make a sound and left Toriel to decipher the answer.

"It is dangerous beyond that room, and there are puzzles I have yet to explain... I hope you have stayed put." Toriel hangs up. Frisk shuffles, feeling guilty for leaving the long room. Then, she looks around. She was outside the room now, so she might as well keep going. Entering a room to her left she found a bowl of sweets. There was a sign plastered to the bowl:

MONSTER CANDY. TAKE ONE.

Frisk hesitates, but then reaches in and pick out a colourfully wrapped, round object. Frisk peels the wrapping off and pops the sweet into her mouth. she scrunches up her face and spit it out. She feels her eyes become watery, and coughs. _Disgusting!_ The sweet had some sort of slimy flavour, mixed with some degree of sweetness, and sourness. At least nothing strange had happened to her because she tried to eat it. Now Frisk knew monster food is probably safe for her to eat.

She left the room feeling somewhat disappointed. Frisk was hoping for a nice tasting sweet to set her mind off of her current situation. Any flavour She knew would've been good: chocolate, strawberry, toffee, raspberry... the list could go on forever. But, alas, she have no idea what the sweet was supposed to taste like. Perhaps monsters had different taste preferences to humans.

"You! What are you doing! Get away from that room, those are mine!" A voice squeals at Frisk. The child looked up to see a frog-like creature. She remained silent. "I said step away, bloody child!" Frisk slowly shuffles away from the room. "That's more like it. The sign may say you can take one... but you can't! Toriel keeps putting that blasted sign on my sweet jar even though I keep taking it off." The frog huffs. Frisk wasn't so shocked to see a monster this time, though she'd upset it. The child stayed still, thinking of what to do to cheer the frog up. Then, she walks back into the sweet room. "Hey, not in there! H-hey!" The frog calls. "Stop! I don't have much..." Frisk comes back out the room, holding one unwrapped sweet and offers it to the frog, hoping it'd feel better at the taste of monster sweets. "Hm. Thank you. I guess." It grumbles, though it blushes anyway. The frog takes the sweet from Frisk's hand, using a long tongue to reel the food to it's mouth, then it begins sucking on it. "I actually find it hard to unwrap the blasted things... no hands." Frisk smiles, and nods, happy to help. "I haven't seen you before around the ruins, actually." The frog observes. "Are you new? Newcomers are a rare occurrence here, since the door is locked shut..." Frisk just nods. This frog seemed to think Frisk was a monster too, so the child decided it may be best it doesn't know she's human. "Do you know your way around?" Frisk shakes her head. "Do you know where you're going?" Frisk shakes her head again. The frog falls silent for a minute or so. "Come on, I'll take you to Toriel. She'll take care of you until you're more confident here." Frisk's expression brightens up. The frog must have noted the change, because it blushed more. "Alright, this way you little sweet-snatcher." The frog hops off, and Frisk follows it.

The two of them make their way through the puzzles of the Ruins, until they come to a ghostly figue laid on the floor. ZzZzZzZzZz... "Are they gone yet?" It whispers, before continuing with it's 'Z's. ZzZzZz...

"Move you blas-" The frog begins, but Frisk steps in front of it and shakes her head. The frog quiets down and huffs. Frisk smile and approaches the ghost, trying to shake it, but her hand phases right through it. Frisk considers walking through it, but that seems rather rude, so she'd just have to make them move. Frisk pulls an angry expression and gestures for the ghost to get up. Though, her supposed anger is just some simple, puffed-out cheeks. The ghost looks at her and floats up to what seemed to be it's standing position. Once it got to that though, it started crying. Frisk gasped, she didn't mean to make it cry. She waves her hands at them with an apologetic look, but it does nothing to calm the ghost. Suddenly, Frisk feels herself flying to the side as the frog rams her out the way and a tear hits it. "ow, ow, OW!" It yells as more tears hit it. "Watch what you're doing! You're going to hurt someone doing that."

"Oh... I'm sorry." Mumbled the ghost, though tears still kept falling. "Oh... I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Oh... … ..."

Frisk felt a bit sorry for the ghost and smile at it.

"Okay." Frisk say,s causing the ghost to look at her. It seems confused, so she repeats: "Okay." The child clapped her hands gently, trying to look as happy as she could for the ghost. The ghost stops crying. Frisk continues to be cheerful for it, until the ghost gives a somewhat thoughtful look.

"Let me try..." It muses to itself, and suddenly the tears stop falling down and rise up instead, creating a top hat on its head. "I call it... "Dapper Blook"." The ghost says, gazing at Frisk for her response. When she doesn't react to the joke, rather, stares in amazement at the sudden change in physics, it begins to clarify it's joke, remembering it hasn't actually told her its name. "Dapper Blook... because... I am Napstablook." Frisk looks back at the ghost, and snorts trying to hold in a giggle. Then, she just lets herself laugh at Blook's joke.

"You've got to be kidding me..." The frog murmurs. Blook looks thoughtful as Frisk laughs, but better. It didn't look as upset now.

"I usually come to the Ruins... because there's nobody around, But today... I met somebody nice. I'll get out of your way." Blook says. He sounds upset, but perhaps that's just how ghosts sound all the time. Then, without another word, he fades away.

"It fun." Frisk comments, some air of confidence to speak around monsters growing. She felt comfortable here.

"It? Napstablook, Sweet-snatcher. Can you not refer to people by names?" The frog groans. Frisk looked at it quizzically, as if to say, 'what's your name then'? The frog pauses and stares at Frisk. "You think I'd share that information with you?" It laughs. "Either way, just call me Froggit. That my monster sub-species."

"Froggit." Frisk repeats. "Froggit." She smiles.

"Yes, yes, you can shut up now." Froggit looks away, and keep hopping through the Ruins. Frisk follows behind, quietly humming the word "froggit" the whole way.

On the way back, Frisk encounters a few more monsters. Froggit, really, was the one who dealt with them by shooing them away. She learnt the names of a few more monsters. Loox, Whimsun... Vegetoid. There were so many different monsters it made her head spin. Eventually, though, Froggit came up to a large, dead-looking tree.

"Here." He says. Frisk had found out 'it' was actually a 'he'. That made her wonder... what was Toriel? Frisk looks at Froggit, confused. It groans at Frisk's inability to connect the dots. "Toriel's home. Look over there." The child looks past the tree to see a cute, tidy house. It fills her with determination. Frisk giggles at it. "Go on, she'll be home." Froggit hurried her to the door.

" _She", well, that answers what Toriel is._ Once Frisk is at the door, Froggit begins hopping away. The child turns to him. "Um..." She mumbles quietly. He pauses and looks back at her. "... Thank... you." Frisk smiles gratefully at him.

"Ah, whatever." He glances away, blushing. "Gets sweet-snatchers like you out my way." Froggit continued hopping away. Frisk turns to the door and knocks. After a few seconds Toriel opens the door. She looks around, before looking down.

"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?" Toriel fusses over Frisk, checking for injuries. The child shakes her head.

"Froggit." Frisk hums. "Froggit okay." Toriel pulls a bewildered expression. She obviously had no idea what Frisk meant. The child tries a bit harder. "Froggit...look after me." Frisk smiles, proud of her utterance. Toriel would understand that for sure.

"Oh!" Toriel's bewilderment turns into shock. "Which one...?" Frisk shrugs. "I suppose it does not matter. As long as you are safe, little one, that is what matters." Toriel pulls the girl inside, and the strong scent of cinnamon fills her nose. Toriel laughs at Frisk's expression. Frisk felt like drooling she was so hungry. "I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this. You are obviously hungry and I am glad you have not been harmed. Err... Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer since your nose has found my secret. Come, small one!" Toriel takes Frisk's hand and leads her to the kitchen. "Surprise!" She gestures with her hand to a pie sat on top of a kitchen counter. "It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. Here, I have another surprise for you. You can have some pie later, it must cool down first. Toriel leads Frisk to the other side of her home, to a corridor with three doors. She stops in front of the first door. "This is it... A room of your own. I hope you like it!" Toriel rubs the girl's head lovingly. I will leave you to explore while I get the rest of our dinner ready." Toriel heads back towards the kitchen. Frisk watches her go, then steps into her room. Frisk sniffs, taking in the smell of the room, and, for the matter, the whole house. It smelt a little like wet dog, with a hint of cinnamon, but she didn't mind. She could get used to it. Frisk looks around the room a tentatively, taking a fancy to the toys. Frisk sits, and plays with them for a few minutes before inspecting the lamp, the drawings and the wardrobe. After browsing the room She removes her shoes and immediately goes to bed, picking up a teddy from the bedside. Frisk snuggles into it, finding it a comfort, and falls asleep.

Frisk wakes to see nothing. The room was dark but she got up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She wasn't holding the teddy anymore. She stands, and begins making her way around the room, trying to find a light switch or lamp. This reminded Frisk of stumbling around in the cavern, and made her feel uneasy. Frisk wasn't sure she was comfortable with the dark anymore. She traces her hand along the walls and finds the light switch. _Ah ha!_ Frisk flicks the light on, moving her foot back as she adjusts her eyes to the light. Squelch. Frisk's foot, it seemed, had also found something. Frisk looks down and lifts her foot. Crumbs fall from the fabric of her sock onto a little plate below, atop of which were the remains of some sort of pie. Frisk assumed it was the cinnamon-butterscotch pie Toriel had mentioned. _Uh... oops..._ Frisk bends down and scoop up the plate. She felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Toriel had cooked that just for her, and she'd walked all over it. Literally. Frisk begins making her way out the room, hopping to prevent dirtying the pristine carpet.

Frisk hops into the living room where she spies Toriel reading a book. Hopping closer, Frisk inspects the cover of the book. It read: 72 uses for Snails. _Interesting..._ "T-..." Frisk stutters, "Toriel...?" The goat monster tears her intense gaze from the book, and moves it to the girl. Frisk holds out the plate with the crushed pie.

"Oh dear!" Toriel stands, setting her book down with the pages open so that she doesn't lose her place. "What happened?" Frisk glances away, then reaches down and peels off her sock, handing it over to Toriel as a clue. "Oh... I see." She sighs. "Nevermind, my child. There is more pie. This is not your fault, it is mine! I should not have put it so close to the light switch. Perhaps then, you would not have stepped on it and ruined your sock." Frisk looked at the crushed pie. She looks up at Toriel and rubs her own belly, grinning from ear to ear. She really wanted that pie. Toriel lets out a snigger. "Okay, I understand, my child. Please, sit yourself down." Toriel steps over to the table and pulls out a chair for Frisk. The girl waddles over and scrambles up onto it. Frisk does not manage to get on the chair herself. Frisk felt hands wrap around her waist and lift her onto the chair. She looks up at Toriel, who simply smiles and heads into the kitchen, then returns with a slice of pie for each of them. She sets Frisk's plate down in front of her. The child looks at the pie. It's oozing with butterscotch goodness, and lightly powdered with cinnamon wholesomeness. Frisk doesn't waste a second in starting to chow down on the pie. "Careful, my child!" Toriel spouts, and Frisk pauses looking at her quizzically."If you eat too fast you may choke. You will not enjoy your food. Slow down." The girl heeds her warning, and begins taking smaller bites. Frisk cannot help but smile as the taste of the pie dances around on her tongue. The taste melts her heart. No, her soul.

Frisk finishes her pie and sits back, satiated. Frisk grins and pats her belly. Toriel looks at her with a smile, "I see you have enjoyed your pie. I am glad." Frisk nods, and slide off the chair. She waddles over to Toriel, and pulls her arm down to herself, hugging it. Toriel reaches down to Frisk with her other hand, stroking her head. She picks the child up, setting the girl on her lap. "My child, there are so many things I wish to do and share with you. I have already prepared a curriculum for your education! Though, I believe adjustments are called for. For example, we need to work on your speech." Toriel clears her throat, hoping her statement wouldn't offend Frisk. The girl looks up at her and just smiles, not particularly minding her suggestion. Frisk knew she needed help with it, though she avoided the topic most of the time. The girl snuggles into Toriel.

"Mummy." She muses. Toriel looks down at her, with wide eyes.

"Pardon, my child?" Her voice shakes slightly, though it didn't sound like it was in a sad way.

"Mummy." Frisk buries her face into Toriel's fur. She was so kind to Frisk. She desperately wanted Toriel to be her mother. Toriel shuffles under Frisk, wrapping both her arms firmly around her. All her thick fur is soft, and she herself is warm. Frisk feels comfortable in her embrace.

"Mummy..." She repeats after Frisk, quietly. "If that is what you wish, my child, I will be your 'mummy'." Toriel gently pushes the girl away from her torso and leans down, nuzzling her nose affectionately. Frisk giggles, flinging her arms around Toriel's neck. Toriel was her family now.


	3. Chapter 2: Beyond the Doors

**Author's Note**

 **Okay, so this chapter and the prior ones have been released together, because I had them. From now on releases of chapters will be more spontaneous. Bare in mind that the original second person narrative will usually be released first on DeviantArt. This chapter being an exception (I can't be bothered to mess around with DA's text system right now). Anyway, enjoy!**

 **P.S. I thought my puns were great when righting this so don't crush my hopes. Originally I didn't actually want the character to be "punny", but since she stays with Toriel I felt she'd probably pick up some bad habits. Toriel being rather humerus and all.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: Beyond the Doors**

11 years later.

Frisk sits in her room, flicking through her diary. Frisk had no idea where Toriel had managed to get her little notebooks she could use as diaries from, but she was glad her mother found them. They were comforting to her. Frisk record her days in them, but occasionally she would also record nightmares she had too. Frisk often had nightmares. Her diaries gave Frisk something to confide in, since she was too afraid to tell Toriel what she saw sometimes. Sometimes Frisk saw strangers in her dreams. Sometimes she saw those she knew. Most of the time, the person Frisk saw ended up dead. This wasn't always the case, however, sometimes Frisk enjoyed her time with them. She liked those dreams. Flicking through the pages of her first diary she skimmed over some of the older entries, years worth of her life trapped in the pages of a book. Oh, how times had changed for her. **XX/XX/2313** was the date scrawled shakily on the first page of Frisk's first diary. Toriel had helped her write the numbers, but they were still just barely legible. The entry simply said: _Lurn Rit capetols_ _Fun._ Firsk smirks. She had so much to be grateful for. She could never thank Toriel enough for raising her. Frisk could never thank Toriel enough for teaching her how to speak well, tell jokes, read context cues, play music, do maths, write... hell, she'd even taught her how to do some basic games like catch. Frisk flicks through more of the diary.

 **XX/XX/2314**

 _Can do many thing love cook pies Toriel cook pie with me._

 **XX/XX/2315**

 _I love playing with Toriel! Today she taught me how to play 'I Spy'! It is an good game and she teaches me new words all the time with it! She is a good mum! I want to stay with her forever and ever and ever!_

 **XX/XX/2316**

 _I can read the time perfectly now. Mum was really proud of me. I want to keep making her proud because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I love you mum._

 **XX/XX/2317**

 _Dear diary,_

 _Why did the Loox fall in a hole? Because he didn't_ _ **look**_ _where he was going!_

 _Why did the Whimsun gamble her house away? Because she thought she'd_ _ **whim-sun**_ _thing._

 _Why did the Froggit try to carve into some wood? Because they wanted to_ _**ribb**_ _it._

The diary entries were all somewhat similar, but got more sophisticated as Frisk grew older. Some where just jokes, but others talked of how much she loved learning. Frisk loved doing everything with Toriel. Well, there were a few entries where Frisk said she hated learning, but she went back to normal pretty fast. That is, until last year.

 **XX/XX/2324**

 _I'm sorry, mum. I'm tired of living in the Ruins. They're really small and I want space to roam. I want to be able to see the rest of the Underground, make new friends, do things I don't get to do here! I know everyone in the Ruins, and they're all really nice but I know there's more to see in the world. I'll ask you about going outside at some point._

 **XX/XX/2324**

 _I asked Toriel about leaving the Ruins. She avoided my question._

 **XX/XX/2324**

 _I asked her again. She got angry with me. That isn't like her. What's so bad about the outside?_

 **XX/XX/2324**

 _I asked again, she just told me she didn't like my joke. I'm not joking. I'll stop asking her now. I'll bring it up some other time._

It was now, seeing those entries, Frisk decided now would be that "other time". Frisk closed the diary she was holding and set it down in her book draw. Frisk stands, and makes her way out the room.

Frisk enters into the kitchen to see Toriel making breakfast. She looks back at Frisk. "Hello, my child! I trust you slept well?" She smiles, magical flames cooking what looked like snails behind her.

"Yeah... yeah I slept fine, thanks mum." Frisk glances away. It's hard to ask about leaving the Ruins. She didn't want to leave Toriel alone, or see the look that she knew the furry monster going to give her. "Mum..." Frisk mutters, then she inhalee deeply. "I still want to leave the Ruins." Frisk inform her. Toriel freezes, the magical flames sizzling down.

"You still want to leave, my child...?" Toriel's brows furrow and her whole face drops. "Have I not raised you well...?"

"No, no!" Frisk shakes her hands, needing to clarify the situation. "You've raised me well, better than I could ever have hope for, mum, but... I need to explore. I'm an adult now. I'm not child. I need to leave the Ruins... I need to see the world a-and see new kinds of monsters... I need to make new friends and gain some wisdom, you know?" Frisk steps over to Toriel and hugs her. She returns your embrace."I love you so much, I promise I'll be okay... I just need you to give me permission to go. I know the door downstairs leads out the Ruins. I pieced it together with, like, reading your books and such." Frisk chuckles nervously.

"But if you leave... they... ASGORE... will kill you." Toriel stated, in a hushed voice.

"No, no." Frisk gently rubs Toriel's back, then pulls away. "I'll be fine. Really." Toriel seems unsure.

"Follow me." She instructs and heads out the kitchen down to the basement. "My child, do you understand why it is so dangerous out there for you?" Toriel asks as she heads down the steps and begins the long walks trough the corridor.

"No... no not really." Frisk sighs. It had always been a gap in your knowledge. Toriel falls silent until the two of them reach the large door that leads out of the Ruins. It was purple, and engraved into it is an intricate pattern. She turns to Frisk.

"Then, I will tell you." Her gaze becomes more solemn, eyes darkening. Frisk stands still, patiently waiting for her to continue. "I've already told you... many times... that humans and monsters had a war. Perhaps 'war' isn't the right term. It was closer to 'slaughter'. The humans... were far too powerful for us monsters. We were pushed into the underground and sealed behind a powerful magical barrier. Things can get in, like you, my child. However, nothing can get out. We lived here peacefully for many, many years... until a human fell into the underground. A young one, like you..." A pained expression crosses Toriel's face. "We took them in and the child gave us hope, but they didn't stay with us long. I will spare you the details. Or... perhaps that is just an excuse for being unable to face the past..." She tears up, but shakes her head to hold her sorrow back. "But, the important thing to know is that the humans had taken everything we monsters had away. Again." She paused. Frisk felt the tension in the air. "Then... Asgore... the king of monsters... vowed to kill all humans that fell into the Underground." Frisk's eyes widen. She hadn't viewed monsters as dangerous or violent beings in years, not since she had first fell into the pit!

"Kill all humans? But what about good people...?" Frisk asked.

"Good... bad... it does not matter. With seven human souls... with seven human souls... Asgore can break the barrier to the surface. He will become God-like in power and will rid the world of humans altogether so that monsters can live peacefully on the surface." Toriel's tone is filled with disgust. Frisk had never heard Toriel be this way. "He vowed to do so and it gave hope to the people." Frisk looks down. Toriel was now silent, finished with her story.

"I can't believe monsters... would do that..." Frisk mumbles.

"You must for it is the truth, my child. I would not lie to you." Toriel places a hand under Frisk's chin and gently tilts her head up to look into two hazel, loving eyes. "That is why, my child, you must prove yourself... prove to me that you are strong enough to survive! If you cannot defeat me, you cannot hope to have a chance beyond these doors." Frisk clenches her teeth. She did not want to fight Toriel. Toriel steps back from Frisk and summons blazing flames to her side as a dim, magical glow surrounds her. Without warning, she launches them at Frisk. The suddenness of the attack means Frisk only managed to dodge at the last second, but one grazes her arm.

"Agh!" She grips her arm. That fire had really burnt her! Toriel gives Frisk no time to think and launches a second attack, the flames swirling around her in a ferocious tornado. Frisk looks at the flames, panicking. Toriel had never taught her how to fight, only to talk, only to spare. Frisk questions if she could even throw a punch. Shes dives out the tornado to avoid being burnt to a crisp as it closes in. Again, minor burns sizzle with pain over her body. She stands. She does nothing.

"I won't fight you, mum." Frisk says, determination filling her. Frisk was afraid, really, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt Toriel. She had raised Frisk, kindly, for eleven years. She had protected her. She had been her rock. Frisk can't hurt her now. She couldn't hurt her mother.

"Attack or run away!" She spits at Frisk. She feel your heart clench at Toriel's tone. Does she hate Frisk now that she want to leave...? Fireballs came at Frisk from the left, she jumps out the way. They come high from the right, she ducks below them. The rows of fire swirl around her, and shoot inwards. Frisk slide through a gap in them when they are more spaced. Frisk shakes her head at Toriel, refusing to fight.

"..." Toriel keeps attacking relentlessly. Each attack Frisk dodges. Each time Frisk has a chance to pounce on Toriel, she refuses. "Stop it." Toriel demands. Frisk refuses to stop. Frisk won't touch her with intent to harm. In her next attack, Toriel's will is obviously wavering. The fire is more spaced, and the heat from it is cooling gradually. Toriel falls into silence for the next few minutes. For that time all that happens is she attacks, Frisk dodges, rinse and repeat. "Stop looking at me that way." Toriel murmurs, just loud enough for Frisk to hear. As Toriel summons her next attack, she can barely create five fireballs. She uses them the best she can to hit Frisk, but fails. Frisk stands again, having dived to the floor. She's panting, out of breath. Frisk can't keep the fight up any longer. She's too tired.

"Please, mum, accept my mercy..." Frisk smiles at her, hunching over to try and catch her breath. Toriel's stance relaxes. The glow around her dissipates.

"My child, must you really leave? You seem to be having a good life here..." Toriel looks away. Frisk stands upright and steps over to her, taking her hand. She looks at the human.

"Toriel, you're the best mother I could ever have wished for. You've raised me safely. You've given me a chance at life. That means a lot. I know... it hurts you for me to leave. It hurts me too. I can't stay in these Ruins the rest of my life though. Mum, we all die someday. You're going to outlive me either way." Frisk looks down, then back at Toriel. "So I want to experience everything I can before my time to go comes along! I won't experience anything else here, Toriel. I practically know every brick of these Ruins." Toriel pulls her hand away from Frisk, tears seeping into her furred cheek. She hugs you tightly, having to crouch down. Despite being an adult, Frisk remained rather small.

"I understand." She finally agrees. "My expectations... my loneliness... my fear... for you, my child, I will put them aside. I give you permission to leave the Ruins. I will not stop you." Toriel pulls away, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "But first, we must prepare you for the rest of the Underground." She takes Frisk's hand, leading her back upstairs. "Come, we must pack. It is cold beyond the Ruins, we must prepare you."

A few hours later Frisk returns to the doors that exit the Ruins. On her back is a green backpack. It feels rather heavy. She hoists it further up onto her back, only the left strap is actually over her shoulder. Frisk thought she looked a bit more cool that way. _Who am I trying to impress...?_ Frisk chastised her own thoughts, then realise all she was doing was making the backpack harder to carry. Frisk slips her right arm through the other strap. She reaches to her neck, hooking her finger around a scarf tightly wrapped around her neck. Frisk gives the scarf a gentle tug, loosening it. The tightness of the accessory was making her neck itch. Toriel had also wanted her to wear multiple layers of clothing. Toriel didn't have any appropriate coats for cold weather in, so squeezing shirt upon shirt on Frisk was all she could do. Eventually, the layering got ridiculous, so Frisk stopped her and removed some shirts. It couldn't be that cold outside the Ruins, right? Frisk turns to look at Toriel.

"Well, uh..." Frisk shuffles her feet uncomfortably. "I suppose this is goodbye... just for now though... I-I'll visit every once in a while!"

"No, my child." Toriel shakes her head. "Once you cross beyond the doors doors... please, do not return. I hope you understand." Frisk felt shocked. She thought she'd be able to come back even if she left. Well, then again, she did understand where Toriel was coming from. _It would be too hard on her for me to come and go..._ Frisk nods at Toriel to signal she understood, not able to bring herself to speak just yet. Toriel steps forward and wraps her arms around Frisk, petting her child's hair. "I love you, my child. Stay safe." She kisses the top of Frisk's head then lets go, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"I love you too, mum..." Frisk smiles, sadly. "I promise, I'll have the best adventure I can possibly have. For the both of us." Toriel chuckles.

"Just don't get too **bonely** out there." They both burst into a short spout of laughter. After a moment, Frisk wipes a tear away from her eye.

"I won't. Just don't start feeling too **de-pied** of me." Frisk gives Toriel one more hug, and a kiss on the cheek, then turns and pushes the doors open. "I'll miss you, mum! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Frisk looks back at Toriel, seeing her smiling and waving a silent goodbye. Frisk is sure that when you're out of sight, she'll burst into tears. Frisk step beyond the doors, and they slam shut behind her.

Sans sat against the door of the Ruins. Every day, all day, he would sit there. That is, when he wasn't sleeping, manning a sentry, attending Grillby's, recalibrating his puzzles, reading bedtime stories to his brother, or hiding away in the "Sans Cave". Nothing ever came out the door. It had been around eleven years since the RESET. Well, he guessed. It was an educated guess at least. The moment he started getting a feeling of deja vu, and began having dreams about alternate timelines he checked his "black box". The items inside told him all about the human child from the Ruins, how they had the power to turn back time. Notes from some alternate, or future, Sans gave him guidance on what actions to take. That guidance is what had lead him to sit in front of the door every day, all day, for eleven years. Sans had pressed his mind to try and remember what had happened in previous time lines. He remembered some things, but they were fuzzy memories. He sighs. Sans had no idea how many times the world must have RESET by now. He didn't care, really. He didn't want to know. He feared the knowledge would only drain his motivation to keep trying to do the right thing further. What he feared more though, was what the kid would be like when they came out the Ruins. He knew they were coming, just not when. He hoped against all odds that this time the kid would be good. He desperately wanted to meet the good kid. The main reason for that being that he wanted to convince them to never RESET again. No matter what happened. Bad things might happen, yes, and he'd wish to undo it. But time had been messed around with so much, that it was tearing. Sans also knew that you just simply had to accept bad things in life sometimes. Perhaps that mentality is what gave him his laid back demeanour. He closes his eyes, leans back against the door, and continues to wait.

 _Pat, pat, pat._

Sans opens his eyes again. His ever-present grin dips slightly as he listens intently.

 _Pat, pat, pat._

He looks at the door. _Footsteps_ , he informs himself. For a moment, he considers not moving. It was likely just his friend coming to trade jokes with him but regardless, he gets up and slips his hands in his pockets. Turning, he makes his way to the foliage, crouching down. The forest was hopefully too dark for the kid to see him. Or, hopefully, they just weren't curious enough to look around. Well, actually, his "guide books" instructed him to hide. Perhaps it was for his own safety. If it was a bad version of the kid, well, they could just stab him in the back. And that'd just be tactless. Not exact how Sans wanted to meet a person. He remains still in the bushes for a few minutes. He almost got up, thinking the pitter-patter of footsteps was just his imagination when...

Frisk falls out from the door. She panted, catching her breath. _That thing is heavy!_ She gets up, brushing snow off her coat.

"Oh shit... she didn't tell me it'd be fucking _freezing_ out here!" Frisk scrunches her face up, burying her unprotected hands under her arms in an effort to keep them warm. She looks back at the door, longingly. Now that She was outside the Ruins, Frisk wasn't sure if she regretted leaving or not. Frisk already missed her mother. She's already shivering from the cold. _It's too late to turn back now,_ Frisk tells herself. She faces away from the door, staring at the path ahead. The way she was supposed to go is obvious. It cuts through the thick forest like a knife through butter. You'd have to be blind to miss the path. However, because of the trees towering high above Frisk's head, the road ahead is dark. It sends chills down her spine looking at it. Outside the Ruins is apparently cold, dark, _and_ unwelcoming. Frisk definitely regretted leaving Toriel. She shakes her head. There's no going back now. With that thought clinging to Frisk's mind, she takes her first steps forward in her new world.


	4. Chapter 3: Ice to Meet You

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Sorry, this chapter in particular is a lot of rehash. Also, sorry t takes so long for me to update. I think my scheduled for this will probably be to work on it in the week, and post something at the weekend. Don't get your hopes up at the weekend though, I can be a bit erratic. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: Ice to Meet You**

Sans stares in disbelief as a human tumbles out of the Ruins. It didn't seem like the human he was waiting for. He pulls his hand out of his pocket, the rigid phalanges of his fingers bringing with them a white square. He unfolds the square to reveal a photo of himself, his brother, and a human child. He studies the photo, then the human. They didn't match the photo very well. Some aspects did. The colour of their hair and skin was the same. They had a similar sort of profile. However, the hairstyle was different and this human was taller. They were small, but taller. The kid in the photo was at least a head smaller than Sans. This other human, well, they were a head taller. Perhaps. Another guess. Sans paused, scanning his mind for answers to this problem. _Ah_ _,_ he thought, _it has been quite a few years since the RESET. The kid probably grew up... so... is that the_ _adult kid..._ _?_ It was certainly a possibility. In fact, it seemed a very likely possibility. Though, he'd never seen an adult human before. None of his notes mentioned one, and nor was there a photograph he could reference. _Humans are smaller than I thought they'd be. I suppose I could say they're_ _ **small-boned**_ _._ Sans chuckles to himself, then quiets down when the human seems to hear, as they begin looking around. It also wasn't very fun to just tell jokes without an audience.

Frisk could swear she heard someone chuckle. She swivels her head in all directions: left, right, up, back. No one was around. _Must... have been my imagination_. Frisk faces forwards again, and begins following the path, then suddenly swivels round. Still, no one there. She was definitely alone. Satisfied, Frisk traipses onward. The path didn't get any less spooky with travelling down it. It just got worse. The darkness became thicker. The cold grew more bitter. The echoing of the _crunch... crunch... crunch..._ of her footsteps was an ever-present reminder of how isolated she was. It's times like this Frisk didn't like being an adult. Being all grown up meant she'd just view herself negatively if she began to cry from fear, when there was nothing to be afraid of. Yet, if you were a child bouts of tears were acceptable. Frisk steps over a thick branch that is laying across the path. _Must have fallen from the trees._ She freezes. Perhaps it was from the trees, but looking around revealed no other branches or twigs on the ground. Well, maybe they were there. Maybe there were branches on the ground, but covered in a thick layer of snow. Frisk looks back as the branch over the path. This branch however, did not have any snow on it. Something about that branch seemed suspicious, as if it was intentionally put there. _What the fuck are you thinking?_ Frisk scolds herself, then feels a bit guilty for cursing, even if it was in her thoughts. _Sorry, mum_. A blast of cold wind hits Frisk's face, whipping against her skin. She turns away from the wind and keeps walking, deciding it would be best to get moving, rather than standing out in the cold like an ice sculpture.

CRACK. The sound ricocheted through the trees. Frisk feels her eyes widen. _Oh, fuck_. She looks back. The branch is broken. If it was any other branch, she probably wouldn't have minded. This wasn't any branch though. This was the very suspicious branch laid across the path she was walking down. If it broke, something had hit it. Someone might have stepped on it, but no one was there. Frisk certainly hadn't placed a foot on it. That meant someone had thrown something to break the branch. She didn't see any fallen projectiles though. No rocks, balls or bricks. Frisk felt apprehension begin to wring her insides. _Is someone following me? Are they going to hurt me or are they just trying to scare me...?_ Frisk remains still, as if not moving would keep her safe. Nothing happened. Frisk exhales, a cloud of moisture dissipates in the air from the breath she didn't even realise she was holding. She couldn't do anything about this stalker. She couldn't see anyone. She couldn't hear anyone. Frisk shuffles backwards, leaving a trench in the snow for each foot. She turns away and continues towards the end of the path. She could see a little bridge up ahead, with some odd looking wooden structure around it. It looked like a number of pillars holding up a beam, not that it seemed to have a purpose. Frisk moved a bit quicker, the bridge seeming to be a beacon of safety for her. _Aw, come on, anyone following me can cross the bridge too..._ Frisk tells herself thinking up a joke, _that is, unless they've lost their head_. _Good thing I aren't doing stand-up comedy... if I had to say that out loud I don't think anyone would get it..._

 _Crunch... crunch... crunch..._

Frisk stops, just a step away from the bridge. Those weren't her footsteps. She tries to move her legs, but they refuse to move. Frisk squeeze her eyes shut. _Fuck, fuck... I'm such a coward. I can't even more. What the fuck is wrong with me?_

 _Crunch... crunch._

The footsteps stop. They're behind her. Frisk can feel the weight of their presence pushing down on her body.

" n." A voice says. It sounded rather deep. _Must be male_ , she concludes, _or they're going to be one scary woman..._ Frisk snaps herself out of her fear-induced petrification. _You've got to face them._ Frisk sucks in a breath, holds it, and turns around. Frisk expected to see a figure towering above her. There was no towering figure. _What?_ She looks down. _A skeleton? They're so short, are they a kid or is this normal for skeletons...?_ The skeleton extends a gloved hand, the sleeve of his blue hoodie slack around his arms. Frisk sighs, smiling with relief. She takes his hand without further hesitation. _PPPPPPpppppppppppppp..._ Frisk pauses, shock hitting her. She releases his hand, looking at it. _A... wait, what is that?_ Frisk giggle anyway, putting her hand to her mouth. A wave of relief washes over her. The anxiety and apprehension, it was all for nothing. Frisk puts her hand on her chest, breathing.

"You... gosh I don't have words for you..." Frisk chuckles. "Stress like that isn't good for my health!" The skeleton just seemed pleased with himself. All he did was grin!

"Sorry, well, no, I'm not really sorry." His grin seemed to get bigger, eyes twinkling with two little white orbs. "Heh, seems like the scare only made the old whoopee cushion in a hand trick better..."

"I guess that's one way to look at it... easy to look at it that way when you're not on the receiving end. And uh... whoopee cushion... huh." Frisk comments, letting her hand fall to her side. She liked this guy. He didn't seem bad at all. Frisk keeps repeating the phrase 'whoopee cushion' in her head to try and remember it. Frisk still struggles with learning new words, so Toriel informed her repetition might be a good idea. It'd worked so far.

"Hey, wait a sec. . . have you heard it before or something? You turned around before I said to. . . . ." The skeleton's smile seems to waver, orbs dimming slightly. _Is he upset...?_ Frisk ponders, looking at his grin. _It seems like his smile is glued there... I'll need to learn to read him somehow..._

"No, no, I haven't actually encountered this before. It's the first time I've even seen a 'whoopee cushion' too. My mum didn't own any so I don't think it crossed her mind to teach me about them... if we did... well, I don't think I'd of been able to hug her or sit down anywhere." Frisk smiles warmly. She certainly hadn't known this was in any way a trick but, thinking about it, the event did seem oddly familiar.

"Weird. . . . Whatever. You're a human, right?" Frisk nods automatically, confirming his suspicions. Then she panics, realising she probably shouldn't have done that.

"Uh... no, no, I mean... no. I, uh... I should really go... a heh heh..." Frisk's voice trails off as she steps back onto the bridge.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt ya." The skeleton remains in his spot, not even changing his stance. If he was going to harm her, he probably would have done something, but he didn't, so Frisk relaxes. "I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton." He clear his throat. "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but. . . y'know. . . I don't really care about capturing anybody."

"Oh. So... what, are you just lazy or nice?" Frisk smirks, trying to think of what Sans must be like in his daily life, since she guessed he was probably the former. If he was nice, he probably wouldn't have the job he does. _Well, maybe he's a bit of both,_ Frisk thinks, trying to give him some credit.

"Lazy. Most others that know me would agree, I guess." Sans paused. "Back to the human capturing thing. My brother, Papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Sans looks over Frisk. Was he scanning for a reaction? Well, he gets one anyway.

"O-oh..." She stutters. "I-I don't suppose you could... k-keep me a secret then...?" Frisk chuckles, but only to herself. Sans's grin just grew.

"Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." Sans observes, looking passed Frisk.

"Wha-" She doesn't get time to finish her first word.

"I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy." Sans proposes. When you don't budge, he pipes up again. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." Frisk gets the hint to move. She crosses the bridge quickly, followed by Sans, and they both arrive in a clearing.

The human was surprisingly cowardly. Sans thought that they would have been braver than when they were a kid, seen as they were an adult now. As a kid, they'd done all sorts in the Underground. They'd made friends with everyone. They'd killed everyone. So, why were they so wimpy now? Sans followed the human into a clearing. In that clearing was a lamp, and his sentry station. Though, Sans was rarely ever in the sentry station. It was more of a storage closet for him. He'd considered using it to sell his 'hot dogs', and as such had stocked up on condiments, but nobody ever came out this far. So, instead, he just drank all the condiments. His brother would be arriving any second. _I should probably hide the kid_.

"Quick, behind that conve-" Sans stopped himself. His grin dipped slightly as he thought. It wasn't so conveniently shaped now that the human wasn't the same shape as when they were younger. He could tell them to go hide in the sentry station, or he could continue with the original lamp plan. _What would be most amusing?_ Sans thought as he glances between the two options."Hide behind that lamp."

"Y-you're kidding me, that thing won't hide me!" The human wails.

"Welp, suit yourself." Sans just watches the woman, grinning to himself. She looks between the lamp, and him, seemingly unable to decide what she wants to do: hide, or scold him. Sans hums, "My bro is cool, but I'm sure you can just play _yourself_ off as the lamp if you have to. Put the shade on your head."

"But no one could possibly be fooled by that..." The human murmurs. Their head snaps around when the sound of footsteps could be heard, and they were coming closer. "Oh fuck..." They run over to the lamp. Pulling the shade off, the human settles it over their head, standing in front of the lamp itself. Sans just grinned. He thinks back to some of the things he'd read from his notes. _Heh, the things I can get that kid to do..._ Moments later, Papyrus comes charging into the clearing.

"Sup, bro?" Sans greeted. Papyrus looks almost offended.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T. . . RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!" The familiar voice rang out. Papyrus sounded so distinct, nobody could ignore him. Sans was sure the kid would learn to recognise the signs of any Papyrus encounter pretty quick.

"Staring at this lamp. It's really cool. Do you wanna look?" Sans looks over at the human. He noticed them flinch. "It's de- _ **light**_ _-_ ful." He noticed their shoulders and chest bobbing up and down. Papyrus groans, only becoming more frustrated.

"NO!" Papyrus yells, stamping his foot on the ground. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus calms, then poses, placing a bony hand to his chest, his red cape flowing majestically in the cold breeze. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO, BE MY, 'FRIEND?' I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING." Papyrus zones out, probably daydreaming about his life as a royal guardsman.

"Hmm... maybe this lamp will help you." Sans suggests. Knowing his brother, Sans knew all this focus on the kid themselves wouldn't really draw Papyrus's attention to them. It would almost certainly draw his attention further away. Though, Sans thought that if the kid just stood out in the open his brother would probably overlook them anyway. He didn't know what humans looked like after all.

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" Papyrus began to stamp his foot again, obviously vexed with Sans. Oh, how amusing it was for Sans to taunt his brother this way. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"Hey, take it easy I've gotten a ton of work done today." Sans winked. "A **skele** -ton." He saw the human begin to shake more, and heard a muffled chuckle emanating from their general direction.

"SANS!" Papyrus finally stood still. He frowns, yet his jaw was still beaming with an irremovable grin.

"Come on. You're smiling." Sans pointed out.

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus whines, then sighs. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME... HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself... down to the **bone**." Sans winks again.

"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, 'BACKBONE' INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" Papyrus walks away.

"Oh, wow..." She human chuckles, tilting the shade on her head up so that she could see Sans. "That's what I ca-" Papyrus returns and she freezes completely rigid.

"HEH!" Papyrus finishes, then leaves once more.

"Ok, you can come out now." Sans informs the woman, looking over her.

Frisk takes the shade off her head, setting it down. "Yes, well... gosh... I hadn't realised your brother was so tall until that last moment. I thought all skeletons might be short... since, you know, you were my only reference."

"I suppose you could say I'm lacking in calcium." Frisk chuckles. Looking at Sans, she notices a twinkle in his eyes. _I guess he is really happy_. "Yeah, my bro is really cool, right? Well, you oughta get going. He might come back, and if he does... you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." Sans winked.

"Alright, I'll get lost but... you know... you, I'm sure I've never met you before... but you seem familiar to me. I can't think of where I've seen you though." Sans's eyes darken a little. Frisk wonders what's running through his mind.

"Really? Well, you're familiar to me, too." He replies. Sans looks away briefly, then back at Frisk with the twinkle returned. "Good to know I'm not the only one with the feeling we know each other." Frisk just smiles. His behaviour seemed strange, but then again she didn't actually know the guy.

"Haha, yeah... so, I'll see you round then?" Frisk asks, heading towards the exit of the clearing.

"Yeah." She stops in her tracks. "Hm? Something wrong?"

"W-well..." Frisk mumbles, looking back at the skeleton. "Uh..."

"It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters. Nothing to be afraid of." Sans smirks.

"Oh, oh I know... well, not like that. Monsters aren't scary or anything... I just uh... I don't like being alone..." Frisk glances away, a bit ashamed. She wished Toriel was with her. Just her presence was always a comfort.

"Ah, you'll be fine, kid." Sans closes his eyes with a sigh. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about out there. You're strong enough to get by."

"How would you know? We just met..."

"I'd say I just have a **gut** feeling." Frisk chuckles. She wished Sans would accompany her, but there's nothing Frisk could do if he didn't want to. At least he could make her laugh when she saw him. Frisk was sure she'd see him around.

"Actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favour? I was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately... he's never seen a human before and seeing you might just make his day."

"Oh, sure, I can... w-wait... but he's a human hunting fanatic... surely it's not actually safe for me to... go near him..."

"Don't worry, he's not dangerous. Even if he tries to be." Frisk raises a hand to say something, but she doesn't get a chance. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead." Sans turns away and heads back down the path the two of them came up. _But how can I be sure... and... that's the wrong way..._ Frisk continues onward _._

Even though she'd only been alone for a couple minutes, Frisk already felt lonely. She hoped to make some friends that would stick with her soon. Frisk huddles into herself as a gust of wind hits her. She'd forgotten how cold she was with the ridiculous encounter, and all the jokes, and the brief companionship. It was getting harder and harder to move as she kept going onward. The snow was only getting deeper. It wasn't even below her feet anymore, it was up to the middle of her lower legs. Frisk stops moving. _It's too cold..._

"It's **ice** to meet you." A voice jokes from beside her. Frisk looks at them, blankly, shivering. _What?_ What stood before her, well, she wasn't sure what to call it. It seemed to be a sort of bird, but with the underbelly of a lizard. It's face was large and decorative, looking like some cross between a snowflake and a chicken that was wearing a Venetian opera mask. Frisk stares blankly at it. It begins to frown. "I said. **Ice**. To. Meet. You..."

"O-oh..." Frisk stutters. "Sorry, a little... cold right now.. to uh... process things fast." The monster only seems to become more agitated at her explanation.

"Laugh at my jokes!" It screeches, and sends strings of sharp ice disks at Frisk. She moves away from one string coming at her from the front, then she feels a cold, slicing pain shoot through her body as one gets Frisk from behind. She screams in pain, holding her side.

"F-... f-..." Frisk grits her teeth, the adventure was already going badly.

"M... m... Macaroni and **freeze**." The monster joked again. Frisk hesitates momentarily then chokes out a strangled laugh.

"O-oh, good one! Ha ha...!"

"See! Laughs! Dad was wrong!" The monster cheers, jumping up and down.

"Y-yeah! You're going to be an amazing comedian someday, kid. I think I'll attend your acts. Ha ha..." Frisk encourages, though she really just wants to get away.

"Really? Thanks!" The monster looks at Frisk gripping her side. "Are you okay?"

"F-fine, fine..." Frisk forces a smile. "Hey, you, uh, run along back to your parents or guardians or whatever you have, okay? Yeah? They'll be looking for you... unless you're normally out here on your own." Frisk knew this monster was a kid by the way it bounded around and just simply looked. She'd become accustomed to what monster children were like. She also needed to distract it from her injury. Frisk didn't think it meant to hurt her.

"Oh. Right... well, I guess I can't get a performance slot if I'm all the way out here." The monster thinks aloud. "I'll think about going to see my dad. When I have a **snow** I'll be sure to send you some tickets, or come by the capital sometime to see me." Frisk gives the kid a thumbs up and he hops away, merrily. Once he's gone, she pulls her hand from her size, blood oozing over the palm. _Oh no, no, no..._ Frisk removes one of her shirts. She tries ripping it along the seams. She's too weak to do so. Ripping a shirt is harder than it looks. Instead, Frisk just uses the whole thing to bandage her wound, hoping the freezing temperatures wouldn't do more damage to it. _Stopping wasn't a good idea... damn, I need to keep moving or I'll probably bleed to death very slowly... if I can just find Sans... maybe he can help me..._ Frisk keeps moving onward.

It was a long trek, and things only got worse. After seeing the kid, Frisk ran into a small guy with a big hat. He got pissed when her attention wasn't focused on his attire, so he launched ice spikes at the girl. She was lucky to not be impaled, but she did get knocked around enough to get plenty of minor cuts and bruises, and tear the old injury even more. After him, Frisk saw another monster like the kid, except they wore sunglasses. She had questioned why considering that it was snowing, but they only began launching for ice blades at her. He'd practically covered the whole area in spinning disks of pain, and Frisk couldn't avoid getting hit by quite a few. Dragging her legs through the snow, Frisk could see two figures blocking the path ahead. One was tall, with a red cape. The other was small, wearing a blue hoodie. _Sans... Papyrus...?_ She thinks to herself hopefully, allowing a smile to cross her face. Frisk picks up her pace with some determination, and approaches.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." Frisk hears as she approaches the skeletons. Papyrus stops talking and looks towards her. Frisk guessed the sound of crumpling snow drew his attention. She shrinks down a bit, weary of the taller brother. Papyrus looks at Sans with a shocked expression. Sans stares back. Papyrus looks back at Frisk, then both Papyrus and Sans begin to look and and fourth, before turning away. "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN!? AND IT LOOKS SO FAMILIAR...!" Both the skeletons look back at Frisk.

 _Familiar? Papyrus also thinks I'm familiar?_ She gazes at him in wide-eyed wonder that he would also say something like that.

"Uhhhh... I think it looks familiar... because it's a rock?" Sans says, looking deadly serious. Well, as serious as he could with such a wide grin.

"OH." Papyrus looks away, probably embarrassed.

"Hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Sans nods his head in Frisk's direction. She shakes her head at Sans, then her hands too, trying to tell him not to draw attention to her. Papyrus looks over, once again pulling a shocked expression.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaims, "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?" He then follows up with, whispering.

"Yes."

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL..." Papyrus pauses. "I'M GONNA..." He pauses again, looking more and more excited. "I'LL BE SO..." Papyrus looks like he's about to burst. "POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" He exclaims, getting louder each time. "...'AHEM'" Papyrus clears his throat. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN! ..." There is a silence as Papyrus thinks about his next words carefully. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus's laugh got quieter, and quieter as he sped off. Frisk stands, baffled. Papyrus was turning out to be a very intriguing character. She have no idea what to make of him.

"Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid. I'll keep an eye socket out for ya." Sans winks, and turns to walk off. Frisk looks a his turned back.

"N- no! S-Sans, wait, p-please!" He stops, and looks back.

"What is it, kid?"

"I'm... really not s-strong enough t-to... get through on m-my own. Please, p-please stay w-with me..." Frisk begs, looking away, ashamed. She was afraid of more encounters with monsters. She would only get hurt more. What could she possibly do to defend herself? Frisk had to guess at what they wanted! Being kind apparently wasn't going to save her from some serious injuries either.

"Hey now, what makes you say that?" Sans turns and walks over to the woman. "Well, saying that, you look like hell now that I'm closer..." Frisk turns her hands over to reveal the palms soaked in blood.

"I'm f-freezing... I'm injured and t-t-terrified... the c-cold alone is g-going to kill me a-at this r-rate, let alone m-more encounters with folks who are...a... a tad r-rash. Honestly, I'm f-feeling pretty dizzy and... m-my vision is blurry." Frisk grins, laughing nervously. Her eyes sting with the threat of tears."I-It was a m-mistake coming out h-here... at least y-you and your brother have been c-calm with me." Frisk hunches over, gripping her sides. "I'm s-so tired..." She mumbles. Frisk feels a cold, hard hand take her shoulder, and gently push her forwards, so you begin walking a bit shakily.

"Alright, kiddo, I'll stick by you for now..." Frisk hears Sans say. She stands straighter, looking at him. He did at least seem to really look concerned. His smile had even shrunk, or maybe she was imagining things.

"Th-Thank you..." Frisk sniffles gratefully.

"Hey, just don't go dreaming of me yet. You might not wake up." Frisk chuckles. She got the serious message below his joke.

"I know... I'll stay awake..."


	5. Chapter 4: Snowdin

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Just to point out, it is completely intended for Frisk to be highly dependant. She's been babied by Toriel and unlike her younger self never really got shoved into a fight head-first. As such, she never learnt how to fight, she's never worked on being fit or agile. Being real, she's been a mostly academic child, with some PE lessons thrown in here and there. Well, that's all I have to say. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: Snowdin**

Sans sat quietly, staring at a roaring fire he'd set up for the human. They needed to stay warm. For a while, Sans had left the human by themselves with the fire while he went off to grab some food, water and medical supplies. He wasn't entirely sure how well he could patch up the kid, but he tried. He cursed himself for not having healing magic. The kid didn't seem to mind his sloppy patching work though. In fact, she just beamed at him, grateful for everything he was doing. He felt happy seeing their smile, but reminded himself it was best to keep some distance. It was dark now though, and the human had gone to sleep. He hadn't though. Sans was wide awake. For all his efforts he'd taken to record each timeline, so that he'd be able to remind himself of the possibilities after a RESET, his job was never done. This version of the human was entirely new. This meant he had to keep a close eye on them to see what they did. To be honest though, Sans thought they might not do anything unless he gave them a push to try. He doubted they could succeed. This version of the human was just too afraid of everything. She was so dependant on him. _If they were so afraid, why did they decide to journey outside the Ruins?_ Sans shook his head at his thoughts. At least he could be grateful he'd met a good version of the kid this time. This human was just gentle and afraid. However, that fear could make them do some bad things if he wasn't careful. That gentleness would get the kid killed if he didn't stay alert. Sans took a few minutes to weigh up his options. The fact of the matter was that kid was a wimp but they had a big heart. If they didn't toughen up, they'd probably get killed by Undyne. That meant the kid needed training to even stand a chance at surviving this time around. Sans sighed. If the kid ever needed training, Undyne was usually the one to do it. Looked like Sans had to do it himself this time. Except, this version of the human was a serious case of weak, and he hadn't noted one so pathetic before. He wasn't sure where to begin training them at all. _Well, first thing's first... they have to survive long enough to get to Snowdin..._ Sans looked over at the kid, inspecting them. Their face was scrunched up, hands clenched. _Nightmare?_ Sans reached over, gently shaking the human. "Hey..." He shakes them a little bit harder when they don't wake. "Kid."

Frisk gasps, shooting up. She regrets it. Frisk groans, her body burning with pain.

"Hey, now. Slow down, pal." Sans chuckles, gently pushing Frisk back down. "You seemed like you were having a bad time." She exhales, then smiles.

"Yeah..." Frisk brings her hand to her face, rubbing her eyes. "Thanks, for waking me. I uh... get tired of having nightmares all the time..."

"Nightmares, hm? What are they about?" Sans idley reaches beside him, picking up a stick. He pokes the fire with it, the moisture on it evaporating away with a sizzle.

"Hey, I just met you, I aren't going to open up the door to my mind."

"Suit yourself." The two of them fall into an uncomfortable silence. Frisk looks over Sans. His pupils seem dimmer than before, despite it being dark. Frisk looks up. It's so dark. There isn't a single light. _Oh, right,_ Frisk reminds yourself, _I'm still in a sort of pit. I keep forgetting that... I guess I had some sort of illusion drilled into my mind that outside of the Ruins was... the surface. I wonder what the stars are like... I wish I could remember..._

"Hey, Sans?" Frisk hums.

"Yeah, kid?" He sounds a bit disinterested in whatever she had to say.

"Do you ever wonder what the surface is like? I mean, I've been there. I'm human so it's probably obvious I've been there... but I don't remember it..." Frisk lets out a brief bout of sad laughter and scoops up a pile of snow into her hand, rolling onto her side to face the skeleton. "Even this stuff feels new to me. I know it's snow, though." She pauses. "Don't get the wrong impression, I don't like this snow stuff. It's pretty... but... uh, it's really cold. Hard to like the stuff that almost killed me. I wonder what other stuff I'll see here though." Sans looks over at Frisk.

"No, I haven't seen the surface." He looks back at the fire. His eyes get even dimmer. Frisk feels something in her gut though, some sense telling her he's lieing. She's not sure why. Frisk has no reason to not believe him, does she?

"Shame... at least you get to see all this cool nature stuff though. There isn't much of that in the Ruins. There's a bit of moss, some vines coming through the walls... and one big tree. Makes some great leaf piles when it sheds its leaves." Sans doesn't look at Frisk. "Hey... buddy, I don't know why but I think you lied to me about the surface thing." Sans visibly stiffens. "I don't mind, you probably have your reasons. I'm not going to question it because... hey, you're my only friend out here right now. You've already saved my life. I don't have a place in asking such pointless things. So, anyway, for you, I'll get us all to the surface okay?" Sans just looks at her, hardly seeming convinced.

"Well, kid, all I can say to that is that you're a **bone** -a-fied wimp." Frisk chuckles, despite understanding his point.

"I hear you. Maybe I am. Really, though... I just want **tibia** good friend to you." Sans's eyes brighten up as he laughs. Frisk smiles softly. Something about seeing him get happier makes her warm inside. "But, seriously, I will get us to the surface. One way or another." They both fall into silence again, listening to the crackling fire. It's pleasant this time. After a minute or so Frisk sits up slowly and shuffles over to Sans. He gives her a somewhat bewildered expression, until she leans on him. When she looks up, he only appears more confused. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you wanted to sit all by yourself." Frisk grins. "I was getting all lonely! I'm used to hugs and snuggles, not the **cold** shoulder."

"Hey, careful there. You're catching a **pun** -tagion."

"Nah. I'm just **humerus**." They both freeze, then grin at each other and explode into laughter. It's only then, Frisk notices Sans is breathing. "Hey, I didn't know skeletons breathed."

"I'm not hearing the pun there, kid."

"It's not a pun!" Frisk frowns, then relaxes. "I really didn't know skeletons needed air... well, I guess you aren't a human skeleton... th-that would be... very weird."

"To be accurate, I don't exactly need air." Sans pauses. "Let's put it this way, if you tried to strangle me it wouldn't work. I don't have the neck for it." His grin dips slightly seeming, honestly, a little more serious. "I still need air to talk though."  
"Wh-... why? I thought the air to talk... you don't have a voice box... or vocal cords."

"No... but... do you really want to go into monster anatomy at this time in the morning?"

"... It's morning? Must be early if it's so dark... but... yes, I aren't tired any more, I'm curious." Sans just sighs.

"Go to sleep kid, you might be willing to learn but I ain't willing to speak. Too lazy to be you're biology teacher." Sans holds Frisk up and lays back, then lets her lay on his rib cage. She grumbles, not as comfortable as she was against his side. It wasn't too uncomfortable though, so Frisk assumes his thick snow coat is providing plenty of padding.

"Whatever you say, Teach." Frisk feels Sans's ribs rattle beneath her, but he says nothing. Frisk is content. Soon enough, She feels her eye lids get heavy.

Frisk feels disorientated and hears a noise. She opens her eyes, her vision a little blurry.

"Get up, kid..." Sans groans. She looks over at him. His eyes light up when he notices Frisk is awake. "Finally. Move. I've been stuck here long enough. Why do humans need so much sleep?" Frisk chuckles.

"Says the lazy **bones**." Sans's grin grows.

"Already up and **atom** , hm?" Frisk take a second to think. She knew he'd retorted with a pun from his smug looking face. Then it hits her. _Oh. At 'em. Atom. Like... small things._ Frisk giggles.

"A science pun? Being honest here, I wasn't expecting any of those."

"You underestimate me." Frisk sits up, letting Sans stand. He offers her a hand up, which Frisk accepts. She then sweeps up her backpack.

"Maybe I am. You just don't seem the type... or look it. For science stuff. N-no offence. Or... maybe I'm reading too much into it. Probably just for the sake of the pun, eh?" Sans just smiles.

"Yeah, for the pun. Here, c'mon, we need to get you to Snowdin. My brother had some puzzles for you but I convinced him to abandon the idea." Sans looks at the ashes that were once a blazing fire. "But I'd appreciate it if, at some point, you go back and do the puzzles with him. Papyrus puts plenty of effort into those things. In the meantime..." Sans digs in his pockets. He shoves Frisk a piece of paper. It's a word search. "You can do that while we walk."

"O-oh... okay... what about... a pen?" Frisk looks from the paper to her skeleton friend. He shrugs.

"Who needs those?" Sans begins walking. Frisk looks at the word search, then his retreating form. She begin to follow.

"... Wait, you're actually walking with me this time?" She moves her legs a bit faster, almost jogging to catch up.

"Yes." Frisk slows as she reaches his side.

"Huh... thank you." She shudders at the thought of not having him there. All the monsters outside the Ruins seemed so aggressive. Well, maybe not all of them. Some were reasonable enough. Frisk turns her attention back to the word search and starts making a mental note of where each word is.

The journey was no problem with Sans by her side. With every monster that approached he shared a friendly chat, and they moved on. There was absolutely no bother, not even by "Greater Dog". Frisk found a cute dog hiding in the snow, which was actually a cute dog with a giant, intimidating suit of armour. The monster had barrelled Frisk over, much to her dismay. It hurt, but he didn't seemed to have meant any harm. Sans just gave Frisk instructions on what to do: beckon, pet, play, pet. Repeat until tired and it worked! Everyone was happy. Though, even with Sans there, Frisk was still cold. He didn't fix that problem, not that he could. Now, the two of them were arriving in Snowdin. Frisk frowns at her word search.

"Sans, you're a jerk. Why give me an impossible word search?" Frisk waves the paper at him.

"Impossible? I'd never do such a thing." He shoots her a smug grin. Frisk peers at the word search and squints slightly, trying to read the one impossible 'word'.

"Giasf... cl...febreh... ber... is not a word. Nor is it in the letter grid." Frisk shakes her head, disgruntled. She'd put some degree of effort into trying to solve the word search. Frisk was disappointed that it was impossible.

"Of course it is. On both accounts." Sans just grins more.

"No... no. The thing in the word search is..." Frisk stares at the first line and sighs, clearing her throat. "Giasf-cl-FUBREH-ber." She looks at Sans. He's shaking. He bursts into laughter. "Wh-what...?"

"Hearing you try to pronounce those... God, you need to learn when to quit. All you're doing is making some slurred noise." Sans takes a breath. "Giasf-cl-fubrehr-r-r..." He breaks down into laughter again after trying to imitate Frisk's take on the word. She just sighs, feeling rather self-conscious. She'd known the guy for a day and he's already laughing at her.  
"Sh-shut up... it's not like you could make it sound any better." Frisk pouts, trying to save her pride.

"Nope, but I knew not to try and pronounce it when I saw it." She huffs, looking to her left, away from Sans. There, she saw a banner with twinkling lights all around it that read in big, bold, bright letters:

SNOWDIN

"Snowdin..." Frisk says. "Snowdin." She repeats. "... Snowed in." Came the realisation. Frisk hears a soft clap from her right. Well, it's more like a tapping sound. She gazes over at Sans. "I don't need you to mock my slowness for me." Sans just widens his grin.

"The snow puns don't end there." He takes Frisk's hand, pulling her into the small settlement. As she walks through, he points to a building.

"Snowed Inn." She reads. "For-" Frisk halts mid-sentence and sighs. "... The names you people make... they're... they're..."

"Punny, I know. It could be better. Some people think "Snowdin" is a deceptive name for our home. They doubt it. I think the name " **Snowdout** " would be more appropriate."

"So, think it'd possible for any other the names to get worse?" Sans shrugs. "That's what I thought." Frisk looks around some more as she walks along. Somehow, though, she finds herself feeling deprived of snow puns. Two just didn't feel like enough for the place, though she kept that thought to herself. Frisk knew she wouldn't hear anything but snow puns if she mentioned it. Sans eventually stops outside a house. It was nice. Two story, some bright lights, one full mailbox, one empty mailbox, wood plank walls, and a slanted roof topped off with snow. It looked homely. Frisk was used to brick walls, but the change was nice to see.

"We're here." Sans simply states. He lets go of her hand and steps over to the door.

"'Here'? Where's 'here'?"

"Home, of course." Sans looks back at Frisk. "What, you thought I was going to break into someone else's house?" He pulls a key out, unlocking the door. "Well, whatever, come on in. It's warmer inside, better place for you that out in the cold."

"Ha, warmth. God, I need it." Frisk makes her way to the door. She pauses by Sans. Frisk looks at him and, without a word, wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace. He doesn't return it, but she doesn't mind. Frisk lets go and heads inside, not bothering to check his reaction.

The inside of the house is a mixture between orderly, messy and sparse. Much of the main room is empty, and there's an open doorway leading into a small kitchen. Looking around the living area Frisk sees a large table to her right, sat on top of which was a plate with a pet rock on covered in sprinkles. To her left there's a lumpy, murky green couch, a TV beside a sock with a series of stick notes attached to it and a small coffee table in the corner with a book on. To the far left of the room is a stairway, leading to the second floor.

"I don't suppose you've ever thought about hiring an interior decorator?" Frisk chuckles, heading over to the couch. She sets her backpack down beside the sofa, and flops down onto the cushions.

"Hm." Sans muses as he steps in and closes the door. "Can't be bothered."

"Can't say it's as homely as mum's place." Frisk lays back, taking up the whole sofa. "At least it's sort of warm in here."

"Sort of? Well, I guess us skeletons don't need as much heat as you. This should be enough for you though, I hope." Sans comes over to Frisk, scanning over her position. "I would say 'make yourself at home', but it seems you've already **couched** out your place."

"Hey, you can do better than that." Frisk smirks. "Forcing your puns..." She tut. Sans's grin dips slightly.

"Whatever. Feel free to get something to eat if you're hungry, though a drink may be out of the question. Papyrus heightened the sink. Oh, you'll also only find spaghetti in the fridge."

"Sp- spaghetti? Oh..." Frisk wasn't feeling confident spaghetti was a good plan. Sometimes her stomach didn't agree with spaghetti. Frisk liked it, she just couldn't eat too much of it too fast. "Like the... spaghetti... that's just the long strings of pasta or spaghetti like long strings of pasta with some mince and other stuff in."

"Latter." Sans kept his reply brief.

 _Well, at least it isn't plain pasta._ Frisk thinks, relieved

"I'll let you discover my brother's cooking skills on your own." San's grin widens and he spins around, heading to the stairs.

"Speaking of you're brother, where is he?" Sans just shrugs.

"Probably thinking up some puzzles or somethin'." He disappears up the stairs. Frisk turns her attention to the blank TV screen.

 _Now... how do I turn that on?_


End file.
